The Six Lost Souls
by ThePoeticWeirdo
Summary: After the death of her son, Toriel decides to move to the Ruins to have some alone time to recover. But when a new child falls into the Underground, Toriel receives a second chance to do for this child what she had not been able to do for Asriel. Still, even small mistakes can get people hurt.
1. A new start

Toriel looked up at her new house in the Ruins and sighed. She knew that Asgore just needed some time to be alone, time to recover. All that they needed was time.

Recover. Asgore would recover, and then he would return to his old self. Then she would bake him a butterscotch pie like she used to and they would sit down and enjoy it together and Asriel would be…No. Asriel and Chara would not be there. Toriel felt a tear trickle down her furry cheek. Asriel and Chara were gone forever. Her children, her sweet little son and her adopted daughter were never coming back. Who was she kidding? Toriel was moving to the Ruins to recover herself just as much as she was doing it to give her husband time to recover.

She forced herself to stop remembering. There was no use in crying over what could not be changed. That was why she had come to the Ruins: to recover and to start anew. She had to focus on this new house. Yes, that would get her mind off the past.

She walked through the building. It was in good shape, considering the fact that it hadn't been in use for several years. It just needed a little fixing up, and then it would be a proper home. Yes, just a little fixing up would do the trick…

 **Disclaimer: I obviously do not own the characters or game. I just created the storyline and personalities for the six souls.**


	2. light blue

As Toriel had thought, once the house was cleaned and fixed up again, it really looked like it could be a home.

Now that her chore of fixing up the house was done, Toriel decided to take a break and enjoy a walk around the Ruins. She hadn't been to this part of the Underground in ages, so a few of the puzzles took a bit of thinking to solve, but old memories of the halls and corridors returned and she soon established herself as the caretaker of the ruins.

She reached a doorway where beyond it, the colored stones stopped. The border of her new domain. Toriel was about to turn around when she noticed a small lump half hidden by the undergrowth. Could that be…

Without further hesitation, Toriel rushed out of the gateway to the Ruins and knelt beside the human child. She breathed a sigh of relief. The child was unhurt, thank goodness, but she looked very confused and afraid. Toriel glanced upward at the tiny patch of sunlight, far above. "Poor child, did you fall?" she asked.

The little girl gave a small nod and then looked down at the ground. She was such a little girl, maybe only five years old, and she had pretty dark hair tied back in a ribbon. Right away Toriel's maternal love kicked in. She was going to protect this girl and keep her safe. It was as if fate was giving Toriel a second chance, and she was willingly taking it to do for this child what she had not been able to do for Asriel and Chara.

"Are you a monster?" the girl asked timidly. Toriel gave her a kind smile.

"Child," she said, "My name is Toriel, and I am the caretaker of the Ruins."

"Oh," said the girl, deciding that Toriel was not a threat, "I'm Annie." The girl allowed herself to be led by the goat woman through the Ruins. After eating a slice of snail butterscotch pie, which tasted much better than it sounded, Annie asked the question: When could she return to her home? Toriel smiled sadly. "Child," she told Annie, "it may be some time before you get back to the Surface."

"Ok," said Annie, "I'll wait. My mommy says I'm really patient." The little girl smiled the cutest 5-year-old smile. Toriel looked away. She was already failing this child! She shouldn't be keeping Annie here, she should be finding some way to get this girl back home! But how was she going to get Annie back to the Surface?

The only one who might be able to help her was Asgore. Her husband had teams of monsters diligently working to find some way to return to the Surface. Surely he must have found some way to get there. Obviously not for all the monsters but perhaps for just one little human girl. He would help her, Toriel knew it. He was a good man. He had only said those things about hating humans in a fit of grief. He hadn't meant them. He was kind and loving and would never hurt anyone. Yes, Toriel was sure that he would help Annie. "Alright," she smiled, "I'll take you home tomorrow, after a good night's rest."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Of course, everyone was surprised to see the queen of the monsters back at the royal palace in Hotland. They were even more surprised to see the young human girl holding her hand. Toriel just smiled at anyone who stared, certain that all would be fine. She would get Annie back to the Surface.

Two royal guards blocked their path. "Sirs, I would like to see my husband," said Toriel. The guards nodded and stared at Annie. "Annie, dear, will you wait here while I'm gone? I need to talk to somebody for a little while," said Toriel.

"I'll be patient," Annie told her. And with that, Toriel walked through the door to her husband's favorite garden, leaving her young companion in what she was certain was the protection of the two royal guards.

Toriel smiled at her husband. Asgore looked better than he had the last time she saw him. Grief was still in his eyes, but it was less than it had been when the loss of their son was still fresh. He smiled back and she came over to sit down next to him.

"You seem to be doing well," noted Toriel after a moment of silence. Asgore shrugged. Neither said anything for a long while after that. They just enjoyed the serene beauty of the garden as they had done together many times before. It was as if no time had passed: they were sitting together, being a family, watching Asriel and Chara chasing each other by the flowers…

No. Asriel and Chara were gone. She had to stop thinking about them. Now, Annie was what mattered.

"Asgore, a young human girl fell down to the Underground yesterday," she told him.

"What? Where is she now?" he asked, suddenly looking nervous.

"I brought her here," replied Toriel, unsure about his sudden change of tone. The garden suddenly felt less peaceful. "Asgore," she continued, "I was hoping that you could help her get back to the Surface."

"Toriel, do not do this to me!" he roared. She stood up, startled by his sudden outburst.

"Please, Asgore, she has a family up there. Think of them. You know how it feels to lose a child. We'll all get to the Surface eventually, but do you not think that this poor child—"

"What's done is done," he cut her off. She backed away, shocked. "I gave my guards orders and they will follow them. We need seven souls to break the barrier. Seven human souls."

"You need to stop this right now!" she cried, horrified. She could not believe that her husband, the same sweet, loving, kind man whom she had known and loved, was saying this. She felt faint. Annie, little Annie. She had put her in danger. She had to save her, get her away from this monster that Toriel had once considered her loving husband. There had to still be time! She was not going to fail Annie. She was not going to fail her second chance at helping a child.

A royal guard appeared in the doorway. In his hand rested a glass jar, and in the jar floated a small, light blue heart. A heart waiting patiently in it's glass prison. "What's done is done," repeated Asgore.

 **I am aware that Flowey was not in this chapter. I could not find a way to incorporate him into Annie's story, but fear not, he will be in the other kids' stories.**


	3. orange

Monsters deserved to see the surface. Seven human souls was a small price to pay for freedom. Those were the reasons Asgore had given to justify murder. He had broken down and cried, saying that he didn't _want_ to do any of this but that it was _necessary_. It was for a good cause. Toriel had left, disgusted and horrified. How could he, the man she had once considered the most kindhearted, loving creature in all the world, kill an innocent child and say that it was necessary?! And then he had tried to apologize for it! If he was actually sorry for anything, he wouldn't be saying that he would do it again if he found another human child. Her ex-husband was the type of monster that gave their kind a bad name. Toriel never wanted to see him again.

The house in the Ruins seemed so much emptier without Annie. Every time she walked into a room, she half expected the little girl to be in it. It was pure pain to realize every time that Annie wouldn't be there, that she would _never_ be there. Just like with Asriel and Chara, Toriel had to accept that Annie was gone.

On one of her walks through the Ruins, Toriel passed by the gateway that led to the patch of flowers where she had first found Annie. She looked through it, playing back memories of the little form half-hidden by the plants. Toriel stopped. This was no memory. This was another child. A new child had fallen into the Underground.

Toriel had to suppress the urge to run to the boy and hug him. She had another chance to prove that she could care for and protect a child, and she was NOT going to let this boy down. She could have kissed fate for being so generous to her. She would not make any more mistakes.

Holding in her excitement, Toriel took a step forward to greet the new boy. He was older than little Annie had been, maybe around twelve years old, and he was wearing a striped bandana around his neck. He was stooped down and seemed to be intently studying the flowers around him. Upon hearing Toriel approach, he jerked his head up. "Wow," he said to nobody in particular, "I must have really hit my head. First I talk to a flower and now I'm seeing a goat monster."

Toriel smiled. "You are not imagining anything, child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins, and you have fallen into the Underground."

"That's what the weird flower told me before he disappeared," said the boy. He looked around as if he was noticing his surroundings for the first time. "I really should not have taken that dare to climb Mt. Ebott," he sighed, "I just wanted to show them how brave I am, and now I'll never get home." He hung his head.

"Poor child, come with me," said Toriel. The disheartened boy took her waiting hand and let her lead him through the Ruins. By the time he started on his slice of butterscotch-snail pie, he looked much happier. Toriel watched him eat. She wanted to get him home safely, but she had no idea how to. She certainly wasn't going to take him to Asgore. No, she would never make that mistake again. She would have to find some other way to get him back to the Surface.

"Thank you for the pie, Mrs. Toriel," said the boy, wiping a crumb off his face.

"You're very welcome," responded Toriel, pleased that she had succeeded in making the child happy. "I'm glad you like it, child."

"Raphael," he said, "I guess I never introduced myself to you."

"Raphael," she echoed. She would get Raphael back to the Surface. She would keep Raphael safe. Silently, she promised that she would not let what had happened to Annie befall him as well.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Toriel's cellphone rang. She picked it up. "Dad's got a skele- _ton_ of good news for you, Tori," said the voice on the other line.

"Sans!" she laughed, "How are you? Is Papyrus liking Snowdin?"

"Well, you could say he's chilled to the _bone_ ," he responded. Toriel smiled. The royal scientist and his family had moved to the snowy town only a little while before she had gone to the Ruins. Gaster was a good man, and his two sons were growing into such nice monsters. Toriel had been good friends with his wife before she had passed away, so she tried to check on the skeleton family as often as she could. She could sympathize with Gaster, knowing how it felt to lose someone you love and have memories of that person come back whenever you went to the places you used to visit together. She was glad that the family had moved to Snowdin; they could get away from the pain and, having recently lost as well, Toriel felt that she had someone who knew the grief she was feeling.

"Anyway," said Sans, "my dad wants you to come over so he can show you the new project he's finished. He thinks you'll really like it." Toriel knew that this could mean only one thing: Gaster had found a way to get to the Surface.

Ten minutes later, Toriel and Raphael were Standing in front of one of the houses in Snowdin. A short skeleton opened the door. "Toriel!" he grinned. An even smaller skeleton clung to Sans's leg. His mouth was covered with pasta sauce. "Papyrus, look how big you're getting!" smiled Toriel. The tiny skeleton jumped up and down with excitement and managed to get pasta sauce all over his brother's pant leg. "Papyrus!" he complained, but he was smiling as said it. Sans turned to his two guests. "Come on, Dad's getting _bone_ tired waiting for you."

Sans took his little brother's hand and Toriel and Raphael followed them to the lab behind the house. A tall skeleton wearing a black lab coat was waiting there. "Ah, Toriel, you look fine today." She blushed and returned the compliment. "You said you had something to show me?" she asked.

"Yes," he affirmed, "This is a teleportation machine that I invented," he gestured to a large contraption. "It's capable of safely transporting any being to any location in the Underground instantly."

"That's genius!" complimented Toriel, "This is a good day for all of monster kind."

"However, according to my calculations, it is not able to teleport anyone outside of this realm, such as to the Surface, unless," he paused to sigh, "that being has a great amount of determination, an amount that only humans can possess." He sighed again. "Yes, I'm afraid I still need to work out a few things before monsters can return to the Surface, but since it works for humans and I heard about your plight, I wanted to offer you my help."

"Thank you! You'll never know how much this means to me," she thanked him.

"Well, it was the least I could do to help you," he shrugged. Then his face got serious again. "Are you ready to send him back?" he asked.

"Thank you, Toriel. Really, thank you. You've been so good to me," said Raphael. He turned to Gaster. "Thank you, too. For sending me home. I really hope you get to the Surface soon."

The tall skeleton smiled. "If you are ready, then here we go," he said. He turned to Sans. His son nodded and started flipping switches on the machine. Raphael walked over to the teleporter. _He's such a brave child,_ thought Toriel. She knew that Raphael wasn't in any danger, but she still admired how calmly he walked over to the imposing machine. She closed her eyes and smiled. Raphael was going to get home safely. She had kept him safe. She had not failed him.

A huge gust of wind shocked her into alertness as the door to the lab flew open. "I told you I saw a human!" shouted one royal guard as he and his partner stormed into the room. "There!" he shouted, and he threw his sword. Little Papyrus was directly in it's path. Sans screamed. His attention away from the machine, it began to emit electric blue sparks. The young skeleton fell to the ground, assaulted by a barage of blue lightning. Gaster rushed to turn the teleporter off, but in his hurry, he stepped too close to his machine. There was a flash of light, and then he was gone. "Dad!" cried Sans, but the blue lightning kept him pinned to the ground. "Dad! No!" he screamed, and suddenly he pushed the air with his hands. Dark blue sparks, the same color as the lightning, shot out of one of his eyes and an invisible force slammed the machine against the wall. The lightning stopped and all was quiet except for a quiet whimpering coming from an indiscernible source.

The smoke cleared on a broken scene. A smashed machine lay in the corner. Sans was covering his face with his hands. A blue spark shot out from his body every few seconds. Gaster was gone. And by the door...oh...

"I...I'm so sorry..." The royal guard was trying to calm down a crying Papyrus. Toriel stared at the ground next to the little skeleton. Raphael would have looked peaceful if it wasn't for the sword buried in his chest. An orange heart hovered above his body. He had saved Papyrus by taking the sword himself. He had died being brave.


	4. purple

Raphael and Annie were gone, but the memories of them stayed behind, lingering in every room of the quiet house. Toriel was constantly reminded of how they had laughed and played, so full of life. To get away from it all, she would sometimes visit the place that Annie and Raphael had landed when they had fallen down. She would sit there, alone with nothing but her thoughts and memories, breathing in the sweet fragrance of flowers. She had no one left in the world: her children were gone, her husband was a murderer, Sans didn't want her help. She didn't blame him not wanting to have him and Papyrus live with her, considering her record of what had happened to the children under her care, but she still wished that he'd let her help him out a little. He returned her calls, at least, and he seemed to be doing well, having secured a job at the restaurant Grilby's to make ends meet. He never brought up that day at the lab. Toriel wished that she could do more for the skeleton brothers, but she knew that Sans would resent any help she tried to give. It would be better to just stay back and kept to herself.

On one of her visits to the flower patch, Toriel was about to sit down when she heard a faint shuffling sound. Toriel jerked her head up in shock. _Fate shouldn't give me another chance after how incapable I've proven myself_ , she thought, but there was indeed a new child standing in the shadows across from the flower patch, watching the goat woman fearfully. She had long, dark hair framing her delicate face and a pair of glasses that had slid halfway down her nose. She was clutching a well-worn notebook to her chest. The girl gasped at the realization that she had been discovered.

"Child, please do not be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you," Toriel said gently, "My name is Toriel, and I am the caretaker of the Ruins. I can help you." The girl relaxed a little and the coughing died down. She stared at Toriel with curiosity instead of fear.

"I must be in the Underground, so you must be a monster," the girl reasoned. She looked up at the patch of sky far above. "I guess there's no chance of me getting back up there," she sighed. Toriel shook her head sadly. If there was one mistake that she was never going to make again, it would be trying to get a child back to the Surface.

Toriel smiled kindly. "You can stay with me, child," she offered. This child was going to stay with her, and Toriel was going to keep her safe. She would treat her like one of her own and nothing bad would happen to her. She hadn't been able to save Raphael and Annie, but she wasn't going to make the same mistakes with this girl.

"Are you ready to see your new home, child?" she asked. The girl nodded. "I'm Kathy, by the way," she said. Toriel smiled and led her new companion out of the flower patch and into the Ruins. They reached the first puzzle. Toriel was about to press the buttons that would open the door when Kathy asked, "May I try?" Toriel stepped aside and the girl studied the puzzle. She stepped on a button but nothing happened. She pressed another and still got no results. Toriel considered intervening, but Kathy seemed intent on working the puzzle until it was solved. "I got it!" she grinned when the door finally opened. Toriel smiled back at her. Even though it had taken a long tome to solve the puzzle, Toriel admired Kathy's drive to keep trying no matter how many times she had failed.

Kathy loved puzzles. Toriel found that out the day she met the girl. Luckily for Kathy, the Ruins offered a lot of challenges. It became a routine for Toriel to see her go off in the morning and come back hours later, tired but filled with excitement to tell her caretaker the latest adventure she'd had.

The other thing Kathy loved was sketching. Her notebook was soon filled with drawings of the places she had visited in the Ruins. Evenings when dinner was over and there were no more chores to do were spent flipping through the pages of drawings, Kathy pointing as she remembered "This is where I met that funny Froggit!" or "That puzzle took me hours to figure out."

One time, as Kathy was explaining how she had helped a Loox realize that wearing glasses wasn't going to get him picked on, she made such an animated gesture that the notebook flew out of her hand. Toriel went to pick it up and looked at the page it had opened to. It was a drawing that she had never seen before, an unfinished one of a beautiful scene of a vast field with a town in the distance and a glorious sun shining over it all. The Surface. "I made that the day I fell down," Kathy said quietly, "My brothers and I were having a contest to see who could make the best picture and I decided to draw our home. I climbed Mt. Ebott to get a good view. I had been drawing that scene when I tripped and fell down here." The girl let out a choked sob at the last word as she remembered her last day above ground with her family.

Toriel as she pulled Kathy into a hug. She didn't know what words could show the girl that she understood how she was feeling, that the memories weren't always going to hurt so much. The hug was all she could do to comfort her. That, and the silent strengthening of her resolve to keep Kathy safe.

Kathy didn't bring up the Surface or her family again, so Toriel didn't ask her about it. Routine continued. Kathy went out every day to solve more puzzles and sketch. She was happy, and it made Toriel happy to see that she was succeeding in keeping her promise to not let anything happen to the child.

Months passed. Kathy had long since completed every puzzle the Ruins had to offer, and she was running out of things to sketch. Toriel had been dreading this. The Ruins were safe, the outside door protected with a magical seal from a royal guard's undesired entry, but outside was different. What had happened to Raphael in Snowdin _could_ _not_ happen to Kathy. Toriel was not going to let it.

She also couldn't keep Kathy in the Ruins forever. The girl pleaded persistently to be let out, and she couldn't seem to take "no" as an answer. Toriel knew that she would keep asking. She would continue to persevere until her quest was complete. "Alright," Toriel finally sighed, "you may go out, but only if I come with you."

"Look! Snow!" Kathy called happily. She ran around in the snow, filled with pure delight. "Thank you so much, Toriel!" She hugged her protector happily and then sat down in the snow to start drawing the scene around her. Toriel smiled. Her child was happy so she was happy, too. She looked around as Kathy sketched away. The last time Toriel had left the Ruins was a while ago, and she hadn't realized how much she had missed the outside world.

Kathy went out the next day and every day after that, sketching in the snow under Toriel's watchful gaze. _It's nice to not feel confined,_ thought Toriel, and she knew that Kathy was feeling the same way. They came home cold but happy.

"He's ill? Oh dear, I'll be there right away." Toriel put her cellphone down. "Kathy, Mrs. Froggit's poor son is looking more green than usual, so I need to check on him to see what's wrong," she told her young friend.

"Please may I go out today? I'll be extra careful," begged Kathy.

"I am the caretaker of the Ruins, Kathy. It is my job to make sure that everyone here is safe, and that means little froggit and you as well," said Toriel.

"Please! I wasn't able to finish the scene I was drawing yesterday and it might not be the same tomorrow!" Kathy argued. Toriel sighed. She knew that Kathy would continue to ask until she got her way and nothing was going to keep that girl from finishing her drawing until she got every detail just perfect.

"Perseverance or stubbornness, I can't tell which but you have lots of it," Toriel gave in, "Please, though, Stay as close to the gate to the Ruins as you can. And take this key. It opens the door for you to return to the Ruins."

 _There's no reason why I should be nervous about Kathy going off,_ Toriel tried to assure herself, _Guards never came this close to the Ruins before, so there's no reason why they should today._ Still, Toriel felt uneasy about leaving Kathy by herself. Toriel ended up leaving Mrs. Froggit' earlier than she had planned to; after mixing together some herbs to make a medicine and giving quick instructions to have the little frog take it once a day, she put on her shawl and stepped out the door to the Ruins, just to quickly check on Kathy beverything would be fine. It was just a quick check.

The first thing that Toriel saw was the key to the Ruins that she had given Kathy. The second thing she saw was Kathy's drawing pencil, sticking out of the snow. Kathy was nowhere to be found.

 _Please let there still be time,_ prayed Toriel as she ran through the snow, _please let me have time to save her. Oh I'll never let her go out alone again, just please let me get to her in time!_

Toriel stopped when she saw an elderly turtle monster picking his way through the snow. "Garson?" she asked.

The monster looked over at her. "Queen Toriel! Wasn't expecting to see you around here. Heard old Fluffybuns isn't doing too well without you. Why don't you two try to work it out?"

"We aren't on speaking terms anymore," she answered, trying to hide the coldness in her voice. It wasn't Gerson's fault, but simply thinking about Asgore made her want to scream with rage.

"Shame. You always seemed so close to each other," Gerson's continued, oblivious to the emotions she was feeling. He looked around. "This place is nice. I should get out of Waterfall more often."

Toriel was losing patience and time. She needed to get to the point. "Gerson, have you seen a little girl around here?" she asked. "Or any royal guards?" she added.

Gerson closed his eyes in thought. "Hmm, I can't seem to remember..." he said. Toriel sighed in annoyance. She had to get back to searching for Kathy! "Oh, but I did find this old notebook and glasses. Shame somebody left this perfectly good junk just lying in the snow. Toriel's eyes widened at the sight of Kathy's things.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering, "Yes, I did see some royal guards. Two big dogs. One of them had a crazy glowing purple heart in a glass jar. Now _that_ was some fancy junk. Sure wonder what they wanted with it. Oh well. Wahaha!"

Toriel looked down at the ground. Her tear froze when it hit the snow. Another child was gone.


	5. blue

It became a part of Toriel's routine to check the flower patch to see if anyone had fallen. She didn't know why she kept going; fate should not give her another chance if she was certainly going to fail another child, but in spite of that, she checked every day.

Months passed, seasons changed, time went by. Still, Toriel checked the patch and still all she saw were flowers. So she was not surprised when one day she saw yet another golden flower; she was surprised that it was talking.

Shocked, Toriel watched the strange flower. Never before had she seen a plant talk or move and she had certainly never seen one attack. But there it was, a flower shooting star-shaped projectiles at a girl in a tutu who was leaping gracefully around in an effort to dodge them. Toriel shook her head to clear it. She had to save this girl! Quickly, she summoned a fireball attack, something her pacifist nature had not made her do in a while, and shot it at the flower. It was thrown backward and lost in the undergrowth. Toriel rushed to the girl. "Poor child, are you hurt?" she asked.

The girl dusted off her tutu and looked around. "I think I am, but to be honest," she sighed, "after seeing a talking flower and goat lady, I'm beginning to wonder about my sanity."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

After her initial shock of realizing that she was stuck in a world of monsters, Ianna became accustomed to her new life and accepted that things were going to be what they were going to be. She had soon gained the friendship of every monster in the Ruins, and a group of moldsmals took to following her around to dance with her. She seemed perfectly happy in her new home.

Until she asked how to get back to the Surface. "Mrs. Toriel, you've been so kind to me, but I have to be honest with you: I miss my real home," she said one day.

Toriel looked away from Ianna. How was she going to tell her that she could never leave, that the royal guards would kill her? And even if Ianna did manage to get all the way to the royal palace, she couldn't cross the barrier without a monster soul. And no life deserved to be ended.

Asgore. Toriel found herself thinking about her ex-husband. He had ordered those children to be killed: Kathy, Raphael, little Annie. Did they not deserve to live just as much as any monster? Asgore had certainly not seemed to think that way. Toriel's pacifist nature told her that Asgore deserved to live, but she could not stop thinking about those children. She could do nothing for them now, or for their grieving families, but Ianna still had a chance. Maybe, just maybe, Ianna _should_ kill Asgore and cross the barrier.

She studied Ianna. She had seen the girl dance so gracefully, leaping around with impossible agility, and she had seen how the girl had used this ability to dodge all of the flower's attacks. Royal guards might have been able to take an unsuspecting Kathy, a cornered Raphael, an innocent Annie, but Ianna could evade them. Toriel would never willingly put a child in danger, but she had never seen a child quite like Ianna. Ianna was fast and agile and Toriel had faith that she would be all right.

"Child, if you must go," Toriel started, and she proceeded to explain how to get to the barrier and to avoid the royal guards at all costs. And then Toriel sent her off, watching the door to the Ruins close behind her with a heavy thud.

Toriel saw down in her chair and picked up a book. She read a page and then put it down. She couldn't concentrate. What had she just done?! She had just sent a child on possibly deadly journey across the Underground! And after what had happened to Annie and Raphael and Kathy, how could she let her hatred of Asgore make her put Ianna into so much danger?! She had to find Ianna and find her fast! She slowed. Ianna was very capable of surviving. There was nothing to worry about. Oh to hell with it! She should just follow Ianna and make sure that she was safe.

it turned out that Ianna had a pretty big lead on her. When Toriel passed through Snowdin, she heard tell that a human child had already came and left. Out of breath, Toriel entered the waterfall area. Up ahead, silently leaping across the rivers without the aid of bridge flowers, was Ianna. And patrolling the bank mere yards away was a royal guard.

"Watch out,child!" Toriel shouted in warning. Ianna turned in shock and stumbled. Had Toriel not called out, Ianna would have made the jump and the guard would have never noticed her. As it was, Ianna was distracted and stumbled onto the bank instead of gracefully landing. The guard turned at the sound and before the girl had time to even turn her head towards him, she had a sword in her body and a dark blue heart floating above.

Ianna's head was still turned back, towards Toriel. Her unseeing eyes gazing forever seemed to pierce through Toriel's heart and told only the truth: "Your anger and desire for revenge killed me just as much as this sword."


	6. green

Toriel felt that fate was being cruel when the next child fell. She repeated the promise to not let anything happen to this boy, but it sounded like a hollow lie after the deaths of Annie, Raphael, Kathy, and Ianna. Toriel cringed at how ling the list was getting. Four children had been in her care, plus Asriel and Chara, and now they were all dead.

She opened her heart to Gregory even though she feared that she might lose him as well. He was a good kid, easy to like with his kind manner. Toriel was cooking her signature snail/butterscotch pie one day when Gregory came into the kitchen and offered to help. He ended up doing most of the baking and even shared his recipe for butterscotch pie without snails with her, which she thought might even be better than her version. She made a note to let him cook more often.

The phone was ringing. Gregory was busy watching a cooking show with that robot, Metaton. Toriel picked it up and heard a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. "It's _bone_ a while, Toriel."

"Sans!" she gasped.

"Yeah, it's me. Just on my break and I thought I'd talk to you."

"Ok. Well, everything's going well here in the Ruins. How are you and your brother?"

"Eh, we're fine. As I said, I've got my job. Two jobs, actually." He paused as if in thought. "Say, are you still hiding human kids?"

"Uh, why do you ask," Toriel replied, suddenly aware that Sans must have called for a reason and not just to chat."

"Papyrus joined the royal guard." Toriel froze. The last time she had seen Papyrus was the day Raphael and Gaster were lost. Of course the young skeleton had grown, but Toriel still thought of him as an innocent kid.

"Toriel? You still there?" asked Sans, bringing her back to the present.

"Sans, can you promise me something?" She wasn't sure how to put her request, wasn't sure if she was even allowed to ask something so huge of a guy she hardly knew anymore. "Sans, if you ever see a human, could you...could you keep him safe? Could you promise to keep him safe?"

Sans was quiet for a while and Toriel was afraid he might have hung up. Finally, though, he spoke. "Yeah. I can promise you that."

She sighed in relief and the conversation moved on to happier topics. They really had a lot of catching up to do. When she finally put the phone down, Toriel saw the missed call icon blinking on the screen. It was from Alphys, the new royal scientist. Confused at why the royal scientist would want to contact her, Toriel called her back. Alphys picked up on the first ring.

"Hello, um Mrs. um Queen Toriel?"

"Alphys, you called me. Do you need something?"

"Um, well, actually, I heard that you used to have a human kid friend, and I was wondering if you still had one?"

"Why do you want to know?" Toriel was immediately on her guard, because if Alphys was the royal scientist, maybe she was connected to the royal guards.

"Um, well, do you get the entertainment channel over in the Ruins?"

"Yes." Toriel wasn't sure where this conversation was going, but she didn't like it.

"Um, well, you might want to go turn on your television."

Afraid at what she would find, Toriel went into the sitting room. Immediately, she realized that something was wrong. The TV was on, still tuned to the cooking show, but Gregory was not in the room. He was on the tv.

No. Not again. She couldn't lose Gregory, too. He couldn't be gone. He was just here. He couldn't be gone.

"Did you... Did you turn it on?" Toriel was quiet, trying to not believe what she was seeing. "I-I'm sorry! He just came a minute ago, saying that he knew a better recipe and I was confused and I just wanted to hide somewhere and watch anime and then Metaton broke through the wall and he asked if the kid wanted to help him on his show and they left! I'm sorry!"

Toriel wasn't even paying attention. She was rooted to the spot, watching Gregory help the robot. The show was broadcasted all over the Underground, to every monster, so it was only a matter of time before...

The door of Metaton's kitchen was thrown open as two royal guards stormed into the room. "I told you it was a good idea to watch the cooking show!" shouted one, "Admit it!" The other guard was too busy waving at the TV camera. The first guard sighed in annoyance and seized Gregory as Metaton cried "My ratings! My show is ruined!"

 **This is my first fanfic so I wanted to experiment with different things. After I finish this, I don't think I'll write something quite as tragic.**


	7. yellow

Dustin did not fall down by accident. He made that very clear to Toriel when she found him. He had come to find out what had happened to the five local kids who had disappeared and bring their cases justice.

Toriel pleaded with him to stay, but he would not listen. He definitely proved himself strong enough to survive, and his gun marked him as one not to be messed with, though he promised not to use it on the innocent.

She could only watch as Dustin left her at the gate of the Ruins. He was on a mission and it was not right to interfere, Toriel tried to remind herself.

Still she found herself following him, trying to keep him safe. It soon became apparent that it was the monsters he was fighting who were in the most danger, as Dustin was powerful even without any LOVE. But he stuck true to his promise to not hurt anyone who didn't deserve it, so he kept his gun away. That was, until he realized that she was following him.

"Child, I'm only here to keep you safe," she said, embarrassed. He stared up at her. She felt like he was judging her.

"You've lived in the Ruins a long time, haven't you?" he asked. She nodded, a little confused at where this was going. "So, you would have been the first monster the five missing children encountered, right?" She flinched. She hadn't kept them safe. Dustin's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Of course! How did I not see it before?" he gasped, "I was looking for someone who had seen those other children and she was here all along!"

His frown deepened. "You seemed so intent on keeping me in the Ruins. And now you're following me, supposedly to keep them safe. Tell me, did you try to keep the other children _safe_?" She looked down, unable to meet his eyes for the guilt she felt over not keeping her promises to Gregory and Ianna and Kathy and Raphael and Annie. "I've never seen somebody look more guilty than you. Of course! A nice, motherly, protective disguise, what a perfect lure for children! You weren't keeping them safe, you were killing them!"

He stepped toward her and a Fight started. "Justice will be served to the children and their murderer!" he shouted, attacking. He shot and a large chunk of her health was wiped out. She used Mercy but he didn't accept it. He got ready to for his next attack.

 _If I die, I will have deserved to. I wasn't able to save those children, so I should not be saved,_ she thought sadly.

"Hey, it's Queen Toriel!"

"And look! A human!"

"Hey, she's in trouble!"

The two royal guards rushed over. "No! Don't-" cried Toriel. Dustin's attack came, hitting one of the guards.

"Ooof! I'm fine but stand back, he's dangerous!" shouted the injured guard. His partner lunged with his sword.

Dustin dodged. "I knew it!" he shouted, "I knew you were responsible for the kids dying! Queen Toriel and her royal guards, eh?"

The injured guard shakily got up. Dustin, busy fighting the other guard, didn't see the blow coming until it was too late. There was no justice on that day.


	8. red

**I know that Frisk and Chara are supposed to be genderless, but after giving all the other kids genders, it would be kind of weird for Toriel to see a kid without a gender. Therefore, I made Frisk a guy and Chara a girl.**

Another child fell. Another child that would meet his death from the royal guards, though thankfully the last. After watching six children fall, leave, and die, Toriel didn't know why she kept trying to save them.

But Frisk was different from the others. He possessed a certain drive to keep going, a burning determination, that Toriel could sense from the moment she rescued him from the strange golden flower. She could sense it when she left her house with the surprise pie she had baked for him (Gregory's recipe) and found Frisk standing outside, having solved all the puzzles by himself. And she could sense it when he asked to go home.

"Child, this is your home now," she told him. He still wanted to go. "Fine, then. Let me go get something." She sighed and walked downstairs. The gate to the snowy forest was just ahead. She would not lose Frisk like she had lost everyone else. She would do whatever it took to keep him safe, even if it meant keeping him here against his will.

Frisk was right behind her. He was determined not to go.

She stood between Frisk and the door and a Fight started. His soul appeared, a bright red heart, and Toriel felt a pang in her heart. Frisk's soul liked exactly the same as another child's she had seen once, long ago. Chara, her adopted daughter.

Toriel shook her head to clear away those thoughts. The past was the immutable past.

She launched a fire attack. Frisk didn't fight back. She attacked again. He used mercy again. Fireballs hit him, doing damage. Still he refused to attack her. Toriel resorted to pleading with him to stay. He shook his head, determined to go on. She had to keep him here, though. She couldn't let him die like all the others had. But...him just standing there, it made her sad. What right did she have to quench that fiery determination of his and force him to stay locked up in a crumbling world?

Toriel sighed. She couldn't save even a single child. Maybe it was for the best that she let him go. If he did die, Asgore would have his seven souls and the violence would be over at least. Tears in her eyes, she gave Frisk a hug and ran back to her home. She wasn't going to follow him like she had done with Dustin.

No. Frisk wasn't Dustin. Determination or no, she would watch him and keep him safe.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Asgore stood in front of Frisk. Whether this was going to end in Frisk crossing the barrier or all the monsters being free, the killing would finally be over.

No. This was wrong. She was NOT going to let Asgore take Frisk, the child who had never hurt a single creature even as they hurt him. She looked at Asgore. As much as she hated him, violence was not going to justify more violence. She had learned from when she had lost Ianna; her anger could not let her cause more suffering. As horrible as Asgore was, she could not stop remembering the other side of him, her Fluffybuns who would peacefully tend to the flowers and play with the children and be so kind to everyone. For that person he had once been, though he might have let that side go, she would not let more blood be spilled.

A small fireball later, she was smiling at Frisk. "Tori! You came back!" beamed Asgore, dusting himself off.

"Don't 'Tori' me, you miserable creature. You deserve mercy, but don't push it," she glared at him.

"Stop! Nobody fight!" Undyne came running in. She smiled at Frisk, her friend, and saw that nobody was in fact fighting.

"Hey, nobody hurt each other!" cried the royal scientist as she, too ran into the room. She looked around at the violence-free scene. "Um, I guess nobody was fighting anyway," she blushed. She gave a shy look to the captain of the royal guard and stood next to her.

"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE!" shouted a tall skeleton. Toriel's jaw almost dropped. _Is that Papyrus?_ she wondered, amazed. _He really has grown up._

Her biggest shock came when a short skeleton showed up. "Hey guys, what's up?" he said.

"Sans?" Toriel hadn't talked to her pun-loving friend in ages and she hadn't seen him in even longer.

He smiled. " _Tibia_ honest, I wasn't expecting to see you here," he joked.

Toriel was relieved. This day was not going to hold any more violence. Not for Frisk, not for Asgore.

"Hey, one thing I don't understand, Papyrus, how did you know how to call everyone here?" asked Alphys,

"LET'S JUST SAY," replied the skeleton, "A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

Everybody froze. "A tiny...flower?" gasped Alphys. Before she could say another word, a large vine shot out and wrapped itself around all the monsters in the room, trapping everybody but Frisk. There was cruel laughter, and a golden flower popped its head up from the ground. The same flower that had attacked the children in the Ruins.

"You idiots!" he laughed, "While you all were having your little friendship party, I took all the human souls!" Toriel froze, though her restraints could not have allowed her to move if she wanted to. The souls, they were once children. Kids with hopes and dreams and families and personalities. Now those souls were just tools to help a mad plant gain power.

Flowey shot his bullets at Frisk. Using the last of her strength, Toriel summoned a cluster of fireballs. Not to attack - nothing she could do had the power to harm the flower with six human souls - but to protect. If she could just stop those bullets from hitting Frisk...

Flowey launched another volley of shots. Toriel concentrated all her energy, but she could not muster up another fireball. _I have failed you, Frisk_ , she thought sadly. But Frisk took no damage. Papyrus, Undyne, and Sans had blocked the attack. The next round, Frisk was protected by Alphys and Asgore. Toriel glanced over at her husband. _There's still good in you_ , she smiled weakly.

"We're with you!"

"You've got to win!"

"You can do it!" Other monsters, every one in the Underground, flooded into the castle. All of them came for Frisk, the child who they had attacked once but who had shown them nothing but mercy. Flowey's eyes darted around taking in the scene.

Flowey smiled. "You fools!" he laughed, "Now I have all the souls!" The last thing Toriel saw was the horrified faces on all the monsters as the flower grinned and then everything faded to darkness.


	9. Another new start

**This was originally supposed to be a part of the previous chapter, but it ended up making that chapter too long so I broke it up into two parts. Finally, though, I have finished this.**

The world was darkness. Toriel could see nothing else, feel nothing else. She had no idea what was happening to her, to Frisk, to any of the other monsters, to the world. All that she knew was that there was darkness.

Toriel became aware that there were others near her. She was just one of countless souls in this place. Slowly, a change came over the darkness. A strange light began to glow. A figure began to take shape as more and more light appeared. The light, blinding at first soon separated into a rainbow of colors. Colored hearts. Souls.

Amazed, she watched as the soul nearest to her burst into blinding blue light. When it dimmed, instead of a heart, there was a child. "...Annie?" Toriel breathed, hardly believing what she was seeing.

The girl smiled, looking as young and innocent as the last time Toriel had seen her, all those years ago. "I waited to say goodbye," she smiled, and then ran up to hug the goat woman. Startled, Toriel was slow to react, but soon she was hugging the child back. After what seemed a long time, Annie let go. "I can't stay any longer," the girl smiled sadly as her form began to fade. "Don't cry, Mrs. Toriel. We'll see each other again someday; I know it. But please, enjoy what you have before that day happens. Enjoy your life with Frisk and the Surface and even Asgore. Don't worry about me. I'll be happy where I'm going, and I'll wait patiently until we can all be together again. Goodbye."

Having spoken words wiser than an child of her apparent age, Annie gave one last smile and faded away. The last thing Toriel saw of her was her light blue soul, shining in the darkness, before that, too, disappeared.

Before Toriel even had time to be sad, another burst of light filled the darkness. Raphael was standing in front of her, still bundled up in the jacket and gloves he had worn that last time in Snowdin. "I never got to say goodbye, so I wanted to do it now before it's too late," he said, embracing her. "Listen, I thought I should give you some advice about the Surface before I go," he said, "It's not going to be trouble free. People aren't always going to be nice to monsters, and monsters aren't always going to be nice to people. No matter what, though, you have to remember that you have your family to stand by you. Frisk will be there, and Asgore cares for you. He didn't always do the right thing, but in his heart he's a good man. And Sans, too, and Papyrus. They don't blame you for what happened to their father. They still care about you. Please, you have to be strong for them and they'll do the same for you." He took a step back. "Be brave for them, and be brave for me," he smiled, and then he was gone.

Kathy came running up. "I missed you!" she grinned, but then her expression turned serious. "I don't have a lot of time, and even my stubbornness can't let me linger here forever. So please, take my advice and don't give up until you accomplish what you need. Whether that be peace, or friendship, or even your own forgiveness of Asgore, keep trying until it happens." She pushed her glasses up her nose and disappeared.

Next was Ianna. "It... It was my fault... what happened... my anger, I just let it...," Toriel started to say, but the girl cut her off.

"I forgive you," Ianna smiled. "I understand why you wanted revenge, but I forgive you. I hope that some day, you'll forgive Asgore for what he did. Forgive him, and forgive yourself." Ianna took a graceful step backwards and faded away.

"I saw you used my pie recipe." Gregory's speech wasn't deep or anything, but at this moment, Toriel was happy with a casual conversation. For a moment, she almost forgot that Gregory was dead and going to be gone forever soon, and she could see him as the kind child she had once cared for.

"I can't stay any longer," he smiled sadly. "Be happy, ok?" Then all that was left to remind Toriel that the boy had been there was the lingering smell of cinnamon.

"I'm sorry for acting so hateful," Dustin refused to meet her eyes.

"Child, I should be the one apologizing! I failed to protect anybody!"

Dustin smiled sadly. "Well, I definitely got angry at you for something that was not entirely your fault. In my quest for revenge, I forgot that a part of justice is forgiveness." He sighed before accepting her hug. Then he was gone.

The next heart that appeared was red. _No_ , thought Toriel, _Not Frisk. Frisk can't be dead._ It wasn't Frisk, though. "Mom!" cried Chara, burying her face in Toriel's skirt. "Mom, I know I wasn't the greatest person, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I was just so afraid and angry and alone and I-I got Asriel killed because of that."

Toriel put a paw on the girl's head. Tears streamed down her furry cheeks. "Please, Chara, don't move on thinking I no longer love you. Please, you're a good girl, remember that." She felt Chara relax a little, and then the girl was gone.

The next soul wasn't human. But it wasn't an ordinary monster soul, either. It was just an outline, a white rim around emptiness. Slowly, light formed the shimmering figure that belonged to it.

"Asriel..." she breathed. Her son. He was here. He was with her. Even if it could only be for a moment, they were together. She hugged him, one final goodbye. Closing her eyes, memories of their happy times as a family played through her mind. Those were succeeded by memories of little Annie playing, and Raphael, and each of the other children. Finally, there was Frisk, smiling with a golden sun behind him. "You're going to be happy with your new family, Mom," Asriel whispered.

She opened her eyes and found herself hugging an ordinary, faceless golden flower. She looked up. Frisk was lying a few feet away, rubbing his eyes. All around her, monsters were blinking in the sunlight that flowed from the hole where the barrier used to be. Toriel looked back down at the golden flower and smiled sadly, remembering all the wonderful times she had had with Asriel and Chara and all the brief but happy moments with those six human children. She looked back at Frisk, the child who had released them all. Giving one last look at the motionless flower, Toriel walked into the sunlight and a brand new life.

 **Well, that's the end. Thank you for reading it and I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Next, I'll probably start another Undertale fanfiction. I might also make a Five Nights at Freddy's fanfiction, though it will be a lot more serious than the one I made about Nick and Richie and that craziness.**


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